Welcome to the Dark Side
by Emmi Fireworkz
Summary: Lately, Atlanta's had a real chip on her shoulder. She's mad at everyone else, and when she meets two new girls, she starts to drift away. What's happening to our Atlanta? A/A
1. Sara and Carrie

"I'm just saying," A blond boy complained. "_I_ helped more than you did."

A girl with spiky bright red hair whirled around. "Shut it, Neil!" Archie, her purple haired friend, ducked and barely managed to avoid being hit in the head by Atlanta's swinging arms.

"Hey!"

Atlanta winced.

The incident Neil was referring to had taken place not two hours ago when Atlanta had been kidnapped, tied up, and used as bait by Cronus. It had taken the whole battle to get close enough to untie her, and even then they hadn't taken off the gag for fear of what she would say.

In short, Atlanta was pissed.

"Hey, come on, we know it wasn't your fault." Archie protested.

Atlanta nearly did hit him then. "Look, the last thing I need right now is to listen to you _morons!_" She stormed off in the other direction and disappeared up the stairs.

"Sheesh," Neil said. "What's with her?"

Archie watched her go, wishing he could get up the nerve to tall her how he felt. But no- Atlanta certainly didn't like him back, and getting laughed at wasn't high on his list of things to do.

Neil was watching him. "Dude, you're pathetic. Just go and ask her out already."

Archie rolled his eyes. Yeah, like he'd take advice from Neil.

It was nearly eleven PM – everyone except Odie (who had already done it) would go to bed and leave their homework till tomorrow. Calming Atlanta down could wait too – everyone in the dorm like their bodies intact.

The next morning, five alarms went off. Jay, Archie and Neil had their own rooms, Theresa and Atlanta shared, and so did Herry and Odie. Herry was particularly har to wake up – not only had many an alarm clock been smashed because of Herry (now it was on Odie's side) but it was just the giant boy's nature to sleep in. Finally it was decided that Atlanta would wake him, since she could get out quickly if he decided to "bat" the annoyance away.

After Atlanta went in, the group waited for about thirty seconds before hearing a _thump!_ as if someone had hit the wall.

Atlanta pulled the door open harshly and stalked out. "Your turn," she hissed menacingly, slamming the door.

The resulting crash prompted a "Huh?" from Herry, and then a thunk as he fell out of bed.

Archie clapped for Atlanta, and she momentarily wondered how much trouble she'd get in for strangling him.

"You're not worth it." Atlanta finally growled. Archie wondered what exactly he wasn't worth, slightly worried.

Jay sighed, rubbing his forehead. Why did he have to be in charge again?

Upon reaching the school, Atlanta hopped nimbly out of Herry's enormous truck, slamming the door in Neil's face. "Hey!" He whined. "Talk about pushy."

"Just get out of the car, Neil." Jay groaned. "Archie, are you all right?"

Archie was torn between staring and cracking up laughing. Some ways away, two new girls in cheerleader outfits were accosting Atlanta. She caught Archie's eye, mouthing "Not one word."

"Hey!" One new girl shouted in Atlanta's ear. "I'm Sara!" Atlanta groaned. "And this is Carrie!" Sara pointed at her friend.

"We're new here." Carrie chimed in. "Can you show us around? You're in all of our classes."

_Ugh_, Atlanta thought. _Can we say perky?_ She appraised the two girls.

Sara was gorgeous, with wildly curly orange/red hair and delicate features. Already one her first day, she had a swarm of admirers. Which seemed to include, Atlanta thought bitterly, a certain purple-haired dork. Archie looked like he'd never seen a girl before.

Carrie, on the other hand, was taller and more widely set, with darker, slightly wavy hair that reached down to her waist. She was pretty too, but nowhere near the stunning beauty that was Sara.

"So will you show us around?"

Atlanta sighed. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

True to their word, Sara and Carrie had every class with Atlanta. It was almost strange, but the girls were funny, sweet, and despite all of Atlanta's thoughts about cheerleaders, smart. They knew lots about Greek Mythology too – especially the Odyssey and Odysseus' adventures in the sea of monsters.

Atlanta didn't notice this fact, too busy being angry at Archie. The one time they met up all day, Atlanta didn't even say hello – just huffed and stomped off in the other direction.

Archie was dumbfounded. He had only said "Hi." What was with her?


	2. The Miracle Drink

_Stupid Archie. Stupid Cronus. Stupid gods. Stupid everything._ Atlanta was not in a good mood. The only thing that was at all brightening her day was that Sara and Carrie were new, nice, and amazing. They were funny, smart, pretty, great friends, and everything – and they really liked Atlanta. Still, a tiny part of her mind continued to say, _What about Jay and Theresa and the others?_ The "others" didn't include Archie. Archie was irritating enough without classifying him as a friend. That would be unbearable.

"Hey At-" Atlanta stormed by Herry, irate. "-lanta. Huh?"

_Stupid Herry._

"What did I do?" Herry wondered, walking to lunch.

Atlanta dropped her backpack hard on the table next to Sara and Carrie, making them jump, Sara's curly red hair and Carrie's wavy black water-like locks shaking. "What's the matter?" Carrie said, looking sympathetic. "You have a fight with your boyfriend?"

Atlanta jumped to her feet. "My what?"

"Your boyfriend," Sara said. "The cute one?"

Cute? All right, they're probably not talking about Archie even if I do think he's cute… I didn't think that. Not Archie, Odie or Herry… Jay's less likely than Neil, who's supposed to be "the good looking one". Don't make me laugh. But, they probably do mean Neil.

"Nah, he's not my boyfriend."

Sara and Carrie nodded simultaneously. "Sure." And the best part was, they weren't sarcastic. They meant it. That was more than Theresa might have done.

Carrie took a deep sip of something that looked like Gatorade in a steel bottle. Atlanta made a face – Gatorade was disgusting.

Sara caught Atlanta's look. "Actually, it's really good. It's called PowerBoost – it's 100% natural, and _tons_ better than the sugar-water that passes for energy drinks now." Atlanta laughed. "Try some."

"You're serious?"

Carrie smiled, pulling another bottle out of her bag. "This one's lemonade." Atlanta raised her eyebrows, taking the bottle and twisting the cap.

"Oh. My. Gods." Atlanta felt like she could do anything – climb Mt. Everest, jump to the moon, fight Ares and win. Not in her normal sense – in the sense that she was actually able to do anything – but in the sense that she had enough energy to fly, never mind that it wasn't possible.

Sara and Carrie didn't even comment on the plural in her words.

Atlanta felt better emotionally too, like she could stand the company of the other six heroes. Lately they'd driven her up the wall, but after drinking the PowerBoost, she felt fine. More friendly, and… cheerful… than she had been in a while.

"I know, it's amazing, right?" Sara asked, watching Atlanta drain her bottle and then nod. "Too bad the school doesn't have it in the vending machines."

"You're kidding, right? This is amazing."

"Yeah… here, take an extra." Carrie pulled a blue bottle out of her bag. "Don't drink it all at once!"

Atlanta laughed. "But it's fun."

"We know." Sara smiled at her. "So, back to your famil- your friends?" Atlanta knew she had almost said family, and except for Archie, she didn't really care.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"That's Sara-speak for 'The cute one, does he have a girlfriend?' You know, it wouldn't kill you to say it out loud." Carrie chuckled, smiling as Sara sent her an indignant look.

"Oh, sure." Atlanta said. Sara looked at Atlanta quizzically.

As Sara tilted her head, Atlanta yelped, jumping back. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah… fine." Atlanta was wide-eyed, looking freaked.

It was a trick of the light. It had to be. But… Atlanta couldn't shake the feeling that she had really, truly, actually seen Sara's hair turn into six hissing snakes.

It wasn't real. It couldn't be.

"Well, if you're sure." Carrie sucked the rest of her drink down in one gulp, tossing the bottle into the garbage can neatly.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm just… gonna go get some air." Atlanta said, looking at Sara funny. She'd had her share of weird happenings, but that – that was just freaky.

At the end of the day, Atlanta's good mood was starting to wear off. As she spiraled into grouchiness, she remembered the "miracle drink" still in her backpack.

Atlanta shrugged. What the heck? It couldn't hurt.

And again, Atlanta felt her mood become buoyant, floating upwards and warming. "Hey guys." As Herry pulled up in his truck and her friends joined her, she gave them each a winning smile.

Theresa looked at her, tilting her head and raising her eyebrows. "Atlanta? Are you feeling all right?"

"Uh-huh, just _super!_" Atlanta cheered.

Archie took a step back, slightly unnerved. "Okay, what did those two do to you?"

"Don't be silly, Sara and Carrie aren't "those two". They're my friends!"

"Your friends who are really good at getting a moody Atlanta super-perky." Odie muttered under his breath.

Jay pinched the bridge of his nose. "Guys, just- Atlanta, I'm glad you're back to normal. Normal-ish." He corrected himself. "But we have to find Cronus."

"We can do it!"

She raised her hand, palm open, and after a while, Herry high-fived it timidly. The two suddenly heard a small _zing_ noise, and looked around wildly.

Everyone looked at Atlanta weird this time. Perkiness fitted Atlanta about as much as Cronus belonged in a tutu.

She smiled. "What, what's wrong?" Her friends shook their heads mutely. "Well… okay. Come on!" She started to play with her bottle of PowerBoost.

The six other heroes stared, not at Atlanta this time, but at the hard steel PowerBoost bottle.

Atlanta had bent it into a horseshoe without even trying.

Neil gulped, stepping into the backseat.

"What?" Atlanta hopped into the middle between Neil and Archie, her hands simultaneously touching Neil's forearm and Archie's knee. A tiny _zing_ rang in all three's ears. "Oh, wait, forgot something!"

Archie ducked as Atlanta threw the bent PowerBoost bottle over her shoulder and into the trashcan fifty feet away ever so casually.

"Whoa," Odie said. "I thought only Neil was that lucky."

"Yeah, well, I have natural talent."

Theresa raised her eyebrows. O-kay… was Atlanta feeling all right?

**All right, PowerBoost is my own original idea. You won't find that in the myths. Can anyone guess what's going on with Atlanta?**

_**Also, Sara and Carrie aren't OCs – they're actually from Greek Mythology. Review and guess who they are.**_


	3. Creepy Carrie

Atlanta's good mood lasted until the next morning. "Hurry up and get out of the bathroom!" She yelled, glaring at the door that hid Theresa from view.

Theresa tilted her head. What was with Atlanta? Yesterday she was grouchy to the extreme; then she was creepily perky. And now she wanted to rip off heads? What was with that?

Everyone else had noticed it too. After Atlanta had met up with Sara and Carrie the same time the next morning, they called a meeting.

"Okay, Atlanta's been really freaky lately." Neil complained, the effect ruined by him admiring himself in the mirror from all angles. "Did you know she complimented my hair last night?"

The five heroes did a double take. "You're serious?" Archie asked.

"Mm-hmm." Neil nodded.

Theresa, Odie, Herry and Jay all shuddered. "Okay, does anyone know what might be going on with her?" Jay took control of the meeting.

"Well, she's definitely not on her period – I checked." Theresa said.

"Did we really have to know that?"

Theresa shrugged. "If we want to eliminate all the possibilities, yes." No one could argue with that.

"Well… maybe-"

Neil interrupted Archie. "Maybe Sara and Carrie are brainwashing her!"

Theresa shook her head. "If I couldn't get her to act that way over months, two new girls with one day of dealing with her certainly couldn't."

"Well, something's doing it." Jay decided. "Monitor her behavior – see if anything changes. She's got at least one of us in all of her classes, right?"

"All but Latin and Advanced Science." Odie corrected him. "But she's got everything with Sara and Carrie. Should we talk to them?"

Jay made an executive decision. "No. They're new, and they don't know how Atlanta acts normally. It'd just raise questions."

Herry nodded, and the gang split up.

First period poor Theresa was stuck with the unfortunate job of trying to monitor Atlanta over a loud English class and an entire classroom. Atlanta had again ditched her in favor of Sara and Carrie, and Theresa couldn't help a twinge of jealously. Atlanta was _her_ best friend, after all. These new girls couldn't just come in and change that.

"All right, class." The teacher yelled over the raucous noise of the students. "We're going to be doing an exercise in creative writing. Pair up!" Sara latched onto Atlanta immediately, and Carrie made her way over to Theresa.

"Partner?" She offered.

"Eh…" Theresa looked at this girl. This could be her chance to find out more about the girls. "Sure." She shrugged.

But when Carrie sat down, she wasn't interested in the English assignment. That was a pity, since the job was to write a story about the Greek Gods, and Theresa did want to get started.

"Look, you have to… you have to be careful." She whispered, staring at Theresa. Theresa was starting to be creeped out.

"Be careful with what?" Theresa wanted to know more about the girls, yes, but she didn't want some creepy warning.

"Just… be careful around Sara. She listens to our father too much."

Theresa tilted her head. "Huh?"

"This doesn't seem like work, ladies." The two girls jumped and looked guiltily at the teacher, who had approached silently.

"We'll start right now." Carrie promised.

"But-"

"No protests, Miss Theresa!" The teacher said crisply.

Theresa groaned.


	4. Lip Gloss?

Next period was Advanced Math. Sara and Carrie were either both extremely smart of had bewitched the secretary to make their schedules identical to Atlanta's. Odie was fairly certain it was the first one, since the sisters sailed through the coursework

Again the students were set in groups, but this time the groups were groups of four. And, luckily, Odie was in a group with the sisters and Atlanta.

That was luck worthy of Neil, since the teacher, Mr. Remorza, put them together himself rather than let the class pick.

Lucky the group may have been, but Odie wasn't thankful. He tended to get freaked easily, and besides being the only guy in a group of four, (25%, his brain unhelpfully told him) but Atlanta was wearing a pink tank top, a jean miniskirt, and heels.

There wasn't even any gel in her hair – it was hanging straight down – but Odie caught a slight whiff of a vaguely familiar scent, one that reminded him of Theresa. Was that… hairspray?

On Atlanta?

Odie pushed his chair as far away from the redhead as he could manage.

As Mr. Remorza started to pass out the worksheets, Carrie's wavy hair caught the light, similar to Sara's the day before. But Odie didn't know that.

What he did know was that Carrie's blue-black hair had suddenly turned midnight blue, the color of a sea in a storm. At first, there were only small waves, but as Odie stared at the image in Carrie's long black hair, the ripples churned until they reached the pwer of a whirlpool, twirling down, the kind of power that could sink ships…

Odie wrenched his gaze away as Carrie turned her head and smiled at him. "Yes?"

From across the table, Odie caught a snippet of Sara and Atlanta's conversation – something about the pros and cons of different types of _lip-gloss_. Odie shivered, quickly replying, "Nothing, nothing."

"Well, if you're sure." Carrie bent over to start working on the problems with Odie. "Look, you have to –" She was cut off by a sudden glare from Sara, but her tone had been warning.

"I have to what?" Odie's face grew puzzled.

"Erm… you have to divide by 298.289347 for the fourth problem, not 288.7." She pointed at the paper and Odie realized he had only been paying half attention to his worksheet and was on his way to mixing them all up.

"Right, but what were you trying to warn me about?"

Carrie shook her head, here blue-black locks flying everywhere. "It's nothing. Come one, let's work."

O-kay…

Next was a free, for everyone. The high-school equivalent of recess. The six heroes stopped to meet each other in the hall – there was no question of Atlanta even wanting to come, so they didn't bother. "Have you noticed anything weird about Atlanta?" Jay was the definition of serious.

"Yeah, but also, that Carrie girl was acting weird." Odie said. "We were paired together for math, and she started acting like the world was going to end." He didn't mention the part about Carrie's hair, sure that would lead to unwelcome comments from Neil.

"No way! She was acting weird in English too. She tried to give me some sort of warning about Sara, saying that she listens to their father too much or something."

"Is that what she was trying to say?" Odie looked curious.

"As interesting as that may be," Jay interrupted, "Did you notice anything weird about _Atlanta_?"

"Sort of, I guess." Theresa said. "She was on the other side of the room from me, and you know how loud the English classroom gets."

"She's wearing hairspray, I'm pretty sure." Odie said. "And she and Sara were talking about different kinds of lip gloss during math."

"And we all noticed her outfit." Herry said.

"Yeah, if we don't fix this soon Archie's going to have to go through therapy." Neil said. Archie looked around.

"What did you say?"

Neil shrugged. "Dude, it's obvious. You're totally head-over-heels in love with her."

"You're one to talk." Archie grumbled.

"Still, I don't like it. There's something definitely wrong with Atlanta." Jay summarized.


	5. Archie Better Stay Away From Sara

**Sorry I haven't updated – writer's block sucks, but spring break helped get me back on my feet. And for later on, just so you know, yes, I do think Hermes drinks coffee, and way too much. Otherwise, how could he be so hyper? Also, if it's not clear - Theresa's vision is about Archie and Atlanta. Okay, on with the show.**

The week progressed, and after a while all the heroes decided to only go near Atlanta after she'd had PowerBoost. It was creepy to see her hyper, but it was far more scary after the drink had worn off. Atlanta could terrify the living daylights out of any Greek monster they'd faced.

Sara was rarely seen without a boy at her side; a different one every day, who would treat her like royalty and be rewarded with showers of affection. The next day, however, the boy would disappear as though snapped up by one of Sara's intense kisses, and be immediately replaced by another. Sara herself continued to be irresistible to the entire male population of New Olympia High. Even Neil put aside his mirror from time to time to gaze at her. Sara's confidence was boosted immensely by this hardly new development, and in turn, every boy on campus fell more in love with her. The level of emotion varied, but every boy at one point or another had a crush on Sara.

This should have made all the girls jealous, and it did, a bit, but Sara's magnetism seemed to work on females as well; soon almost every girl in school was begging to be her friend. Every girl, that was, except Theresa, who was annoyed at Sara for not only lightly hypnotizing Jay, but also stealing Theresa's best friend.

Carrie, in contrast, had become queen of almost every sport the school had to offer, especially swimming. But she hadn't stopped delivering her creepy messages from time to time. By now, every hero but Atlanta, Neil and Archie had gotten one. Neil wouldn't listen to anyone in any case, warning Atlanta would have no point, and Carrie seemed strangely eager to avoid all contact with Archie. She preferred to talk to Theresa, who was starting to understand why Hermes drank so much coffee. Being a messenger girl for one person was bad enough – she couldn't imagine how Hermes dealt with messages for the entire world.

Carrie walked quickly down the hall, eyes scanning left and right, searching for someone. And she found the person. Dashing up, Carrie skidded to a stop in front of a redhead in the midst of the act of closing her locker. Theresa jumped as the black haired girl appeared in front of her. _It was no wonder Carrie was on the track team,_ Theresa thought. _Carrie could race Atlanta. Not win, but still be standing at the finish line._

Carrie's eyes were wide. "Theresa!"

"Yes?" Theresa asked testily. She was getting extremely tired of Carrie popping up, giving her creepy warnings that made no sense.

"You… well, you…" Carrie was struggling with the right words. "You-have-to-warn-your-purple-friend-to-stay-away-from-Sara!" She finally exhaled, as though blowing out a whirlpool of water from her lungs.

"My purple friend?" Theresa raised an eyebrow. She was pretty sure of who Carrie was talking about, but seriously, Carrie couldn't be bothered to learn his name?

"Yes!"

"You mean Archie?" Carrie nodded very fast. "Why does he have to stay away from Sara?"

Carrie opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Theresa interrupted, "And why can't you tell him yourself?"

"Um… because, well…" Carrie looked extremely guilty. "I'm really not even supposed to be warning you, and, well, Sara's keeping track of Archie... She thinks he's cute."

"Is that a problem?" _Not like she has a chance against Atlanta anyway, _Theresa thought. _Archie's one of the few boys who's least entranced by Miss Princess Queen of the World Sara._

"You know what happens to boys Sara thinks are cute!"

"Should you say things like that about your sister?" Theresa asked pointedly.

Carrie opened her mouth, then closed it again, then opened it and said, "Just warn him to stay away from Sara, okay? It's dangerous."

_Easier said than done,_ Theresa thought. Then,_ that's sort of traitorous to Sara, though. I mean, dangerous? About the boy Sara has a crush on? Well… she does seem to go through them every day, without really caring what happens next._

Theresa looked up from the locker below hers, which she'd been staring at during her contemplation, and turned, only to see that Carrie was gone.

_Oh, geez. Can't even stick around to explain her stupid warnings, can she?_

Theresa walked up to Jay. "Hey, I think we need to be careful around Sara."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because, Carrie just-"

"Okay, hold it right there." Theresa turned to see Odie shaking his head. "Carrie's nuts, we all know that."

"Yeah, but she could be right about stuff." Jay said. "We need to do research."

"What could she be right about? Sara's just plain weird." Neil said dismissively. "And I don't know how she could be related to Sara. Her hair is awful! Doesn't she ever cut that rat's nest?"

"Well, she's smart." Herry said. "She's in advanced classes."

Neil waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, _please._ Being smart doesn't get you anywhere. I mean, look at Odie."

"Hey!"

Neil, Theresa, Herry and Odie, began a loud four-way argument.

"HEY!!! GUYS!!!" Jay yelled. "How did this turn from research, to Carrie's pros and cons, TO INSULTS?! We are getting nowhere. You need to stop, right now."

"Jay's right. Fighting's not going to get us anywhere, and –" Theresa froze.

A flash of blue light…

_Two unclear figures, coming into focus… Theresa could recognize those profiles anywhere. The spiky hair, the crooked nose… the angry stances that would never, ever give up…_

_The stubborn set of the faces…_

"_What'd you do that for, you moron?"_

"_I'm telling you, I didn't do anything! It's her fault, why the heck won't you believe me?"_

" '_Cause she's my best friend and you're the world's biggest idiot, that's why!"_

"_I'm your best friend! Or one of them, anyway!"_

"_No you're not! And you're getting off track! Why'd you do that to Sara, look at her!"_

"_Who are you and what've you done with Atlanta?!"_

The vision faded. Theresa stared into space for a moment, then snapped to attention.

"Carrie might have been right. We need to find Archie and Atlanta. NOW."


	6. Wait, What?

Archie walked down the hallway, nodding his head to his iPod. The hall was almost deserted, all students outside eating lunch on the football field. The purple-haired warrior had just reached his locker and started to turn the dial when a light finger tapped him on the shoulder.

Archie gasped and jumped, spinning around with his hands up, only to come face-to-face with Sara, grinning widely.

"Oh," Archie said with his eyes wide, very disconcerted by the fact that Sara was mere inches away. He fumbled in his pocket to turn his iPod off. "Don't sneak up on me like that, I nearly had a heart attack!"

Sara giggled. "So, whatcha doing?" She beamed up at him.

"Nothing… Just putting away my books from History, why?"

"I was sorta wondering if you wanted to eat lunch with me." Sara said flirtily, hands on hips.

Archie nearly said yes, then stopped himself. "Why?"

Sara shrugged. "Oh, no real reason. Just trying to be friendly." _Have to keep him talking… _"So, how was history?"

"Same as always, dead boring." Archie replied, rolling his eyes.

Sara giggled. "Good one!"

"Erm… thanks?" Archie had no idea what she was talking about.

Footsteps rang around the corner.

_That's her, _Sara thought. _Now's the moment to drive her absolutely over the edge._

Sara grabbed Archie, whirling on the spot, flattened herself up to the lockers, and yanked him roughly into a kiss.

Archie had barely enough time to think, _Oh gods, what is she doing? _Before Sara kissed him and his brain went into total panic mode, making it impossible for him to think straight.

Sara held Archie to her tightly, giving any outsiders the illusion that Archie had cornered Sara and not the other way around. When the red-haired temptress caught a glimpse of blue and red movement from behind Archie, she pushed him away from her roughly, panting hard and on purpose.

"Archie… what was that for?"

Archie was attempting to come up with an indignant response that showed how absolutely shocked he was when an angry voice from behind him demanded, "Yeah, Archie, what was that for?"

Praying with all his heart to every god he could think of, Archie hoped it wasn't who he thought it was. But he turned on the spot, and it was.

Atlanta, furious and horrified, stood behind him, looking absolutely irate.

She strode up to him. "Answer me!"

"I didn't do it!"

Atlanta glared at him, then burst into incomprehensible shrieks – none of which, Archie was dismayed to see, were aimed at Sara.

After about thirty seconds that surely had scratched Atlanta's larynx, Archie caught one yell that actually made sense.

"What did you do that for, you _moron?_" Atlanta bellowed.

Archie glared at her. This was too much. "I'm telling you, I didn't do anything! It's her fault, why the heck won't you believe me?"

Something in the pit of Atlanta's stomach boiled, flipping and whirling. This… This was a low Atlanta had never thought Archie would sink to. Maybe if someone else had seen it they would be more lenient, but this was Atlanta, and she was furious. And now Archie was trying to deny it?

"Because she's my best friend and you're the world's biggest idiot, that's why!"

"I'm your best friend! Or one of them, anyway!" Archie felt sick. This was possibly the worst fight he and Atlanta had ever had, and they were having it because Sara had tricked both of them.

"No you're not! And you're getting off track! Why'd you do that to Sara, look at her!"

Sara, master actress, was cowering against the lockers and pretending to be absolutely terrified by both the yelling at Archie.

"Who are you and what've you done with Atlanta?" The purple-haired boy roared.

"I'm right here, but I never expected my so-called best friend to _kiss _my other best friend! Betrayer!"

"I'm a betrayer?" Archie howled. "You've barely talked to the rest of us in days!"

Quick, slapping footsteps came towards them, and the fighting pair turned to see Jay, Theresa, Herry, Odie and Neil running up to them.

"Yeah, but I highly doubt I would have done _that_ to you!"

"You already have, ages ago!" Archie breathed in. He hadn't meant for that to slip out…

Atlanta wasn't paying attention. "Come on, Sara. Let's go." Sara nodded and followed Atlanta away.

"What was that about?" Theresa asked.

Archie scowled. "Sara jumped on me and kissed me, and then she said it was my fault."

"You are in so much trouble," Neil said.

Archie glared at him.

Something in Jay's pocket beeped. He pulled out his PMR and looked at it. "Guys, we don't have time for this right now. It's Cronus. We need to go, now."

"But what about Atlanta?" Odie pointed out.

"We'll just have to do this without her," Jay decided, and the five other heroes followed him.

Forty-five minutes later, the jet landed on an island, and the six teenagers walked into the cave where Cronus had been spotted.

It was easily four hundred feet high, and empty save for a tall black cliff and a river. No one was there.

Then a form stepped out onto the cliff. Three forms, actually: all forms they recognized. But two of them were… unbelievable.

"Hello, children," Cronus said warmly. "I take it you've met, but may I introduce my two daughters?"

Sara stepped out into the light, tall and proud and pleased with herself. Carrie, hunched and miserable-looking, followed.

Archie clenched his fists at the sight of the orange-headed girl up on the rock face.

"They've both been so helpful." Cronus continued. "And Sara has simply loved playing her part, praying on the weakest of you. But how rude! You still don't even know their names."

"Sure we do," Neil said brazenly, only half paying attention. "Sara and Carrie."

"Wrong," Cronus said leisurely.

He gestured to Sara. "The man-eater, Scylla. Darling, do you want to show them your true form?"

"In a moment, Father." Sara hissed.

"And, Carrie, my sweet, don't be shy. Come out where everyone can see you." Cronus looked at Carrie as she walked out, looking positively dismal. "This is Sara's sister, Charybdis. The whirlpool."

Odie recalled the image he had seen in Carrie's long blue-black hair.

"Wait, I thought Sara was with Atlanta," Herry said, confused.

Cronus smiled. "I'm glad you noticed. You're so right, Herry. Atlanta, dear, come on out where your friends can see you."

"They're not my friends," A rasping voice said, as though three people were speaking in unison.

The six heroes watched in horror as Atlanta stepped out onto the cliff from out of the shadows, her eyes completely purple and black.


End file.
